With books I really think it depends on the personality of your baby. DS was a complete routine refusenik, wouldn't sleep anywhere except on me, the Moses basket was like a torture chamber for him, needed to be held all the time. Very high needs baby. We had to follow a kind of Sears, AP approach (co-sleeping, extended bf, sling) in order to survive with a shred of sanity attached.
DD was utterly different. Loved her moses basket. Happy to just play on her playmat then fall asleep, cried to be put to bed, didn't like the sling much. I found she really needed a good routine and even though I was averse to Gina's approach i did use some of the structure of the routine's for here as found they were useful for adapting her routine as she got older.
But...I think borrow bits here and there from books, reject bits that don't suit and use bits that do. Adapt to suit your baby. And NEVER, NEVER FEEL BAD BECAUSE YOUR BABY DOESN'T DO WHAT HE/SHE IS MEANT TO DO ACCORDING TO THE BOOKS. Seriously, that way lies Post-natal depression. It's all hard enough without beating yourself up over the sodding books. Also the boards on Mumsnet are an excellent source of ideas and support as well when you have specific issues.